Dianne Jacobs - itbusinessdirect

Google Maps gets new features on iPhone and Android

December 13, 2019 Dianne Jacobs

Google Maps has announced a major upgrade to its popular service on both Apple and Android. Google Maps users are getting some vital extra features which could make them feel much more at ease when using the hugely popular service. Google has just announced two bonus upgrades which will be available on both Apple and Android devices and they are well worth your attention. The US technology giant says this update to its Maps app will bring Incognito Mode to iPhone users and Android fans are also getting something called Bulk…

Startup food delivery Yumi Foods fed another $8M

December 11, 2019 Dianne Jacobs

Babies have options these days when it comes to what goes in their mouths. No more is it just the standard mush in a jar. Now they have got everything from pouches to organic purees delivered right to their parents’ door and Yumi Foods is one of several startups cashing in. The company has just announced that it raised another $8 million from several of Silicon Valley’s household names, including Allbirds, Warby Parker etc. But it’s a tough and saturated market full of products all vying for mom and dad’s attention, and that’s not…

2020 Cybersecurity trends for businesses

December 11, 2019 Dianne Jacobs

Cybersecurity is key in any business because cyber attacks are a daily occurrence and when an organization is breached, millions to even billions of dollars is lost due to lawsuits, fines and loss of revenues and regaining customer trust? Well, that could take years to build back…if ever. Because of this, I believe that one of the biggest trends to impact cybersecurity in the coming year is the growing importance for organizations to view cyber risk as a measure of business risk because cybersecurity is no longer just the responsibility…

WhatsApp plans on blocking older phone users in 2020

December 10, 2019 Dianne Jacobs

The popular chat app has warned users with older phones that they will need to upgrade their handset to continue using the service and now we know the cut-off date and the models affected. The deadline for ageing Windows smartphone will be followed by blocks for i Phones running anything older than iOS 7 and Android devices with versions 2.3.7 installed. This iPhone and Android block will come into force from February 1, 2020. If you love WhatsApp and have any of the phones mentioned or have not updated your…

Canva introduces Business friendly tools for 2020

December 9, 2019 Dianne Jacobs

Aussie-founded design tool Canva has launched a range of new features, including design kiosks, among its business friendly additions for its 20 million users worldwide. At its annual staff event dubbed the Canva Season Opener, Canva on Friday (6 December) unveiled several new products and tools through which it hopes to capture an even greater share of the design market for advertising and social media. Designed with the education sector in mind, but with obvious benefits for business as well, Canva will launch collaborative access to designs in 2020. Originating…

Coding centers launched in Africa

December 9, 2019 Dianne Jacobs

The African Development Bank has launched a digital tool to help African youth learn coding.The goal is to scale up the program to 130 centers of excellence across the African continent over a 10-year period. The African Development Bank and technology firm Microsoft launched the ‘Coding for Employment’ digital training platform, an online tool to provide digital skills to African youth, wherever they are across the continent. The platform, launched at the 2019 African Economic Conference in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, aims to promote a continuous learning culture among young…

Brex Building its Brand using Podcasts and Billboards

December 9, 2019 Dianne Jacobs

Corporate card and financial product startup Brex is best known as an enabling platform for businesses, with a focus on startups. The three-year-old company, which is reportedly valued at $2.6 billion, initially spread the word about its offerings through word-of-mouth referrals. But that’s quickly changing. As it grows its customer base, Brex is taking a mass market approach to marketing reminiscent of direct-to-consumer startups like SoFi, TransferWise and N26. Since April, it’s been running a biweekly a podcast called Brex in the Black. It’s opened a lounge co-working space for customers in the Bay Area, and last year, it reportedly spent $300,000 on a…

Green Energy: Is it too late to tame Climate Change?

December 5, 2019 Dianne Jacobs

Wind and solar energy have become significant participants in primary energy mix, with the new electric battery storage technology poised to remove the continuity of solar and wind energy to provide uninterrupted day and night, all weather grid supplies. Battery storage combinations of up to 100mw capacities have been achieved. Last month a game-changing solar energy concentration technology was unveiled by Heliogen, a startup company backed by Bill Gates capital. It will concentrate solar energy to a temperature as high as 1,000 degrees Celsius by aligning large mirrors on a…

Kenyans to rely on new Data Protection Law

December 5, 2019 Dianne Jacobs

The Data Protection Act that came into effect last month is expected to provide a framework for data protection in the country, and help boost privacy of the citizens. Before the Act was passed, Kenya did not have a specific data protection law that regulated the sector, exposing private data of citizens to misuse. The law conceived in 2015 is meant to provide a regulatory provision in the collection, retrieval, processing, storing, use and disclosure of personal data. Under Article 31(c), the Act outlines the right of every person not…